System Center Configuration Manager

We've had a good bit of discussion lately about Microsoft's Enrollment for Education Solutions and the potential benefits a school district might experience if they were to choose to enroll. My mindset is that the yearly cost could be worth it if a district had full intention of utilizing many of the products for which CALs are included with this agreement. One product with great potential for school districts is System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

The potential benefits are listed on the linked page. With SCCM, districts could deploy operating systems (bare-metal imaging) which should lead to faster deployment. Software distribution would become completely automated. This should lead to a tool that can help you manage your IT hardware and software inventory much easier - "asset intelligence" is the buzz phrase here. In addition, the SCCM tool suite should allow for easier remote diagnosis and repair of machines. What's not to like, right?!?!

This is my slight beef and the reason for my post. I've talked to multiple districts that have deployed SCCM. I've spoken with a Microsoft contact about SCCM deployment. In virtually every case, the input I receive is that the product is wonderful but that it is a challenge to set up. One district outsourced the installation and initial setup, which may be advisable. When I asked another district if they set up SCCM themselves, here's a section of their reply:

...it is difficult. I will say I would not recommend it for an (inexperienced) district. It takes a lot of planning and it’s good to have a lot of experience with deploying Windows and applications. It’s a very big learning curve... It also takes diligent users to operate SCCM and understand how it works because it can be extremely dangerous if used improperly in an environment and I’m not using that word lightly. I do recommend it however and it makes everything extremely easy and it takes a huge load off of you after you set it up and get everything working.

All of that caution from a district that likes the product! Honestly, I get the caution about the power of such an administrative tool. I'm struggling with the difficulty of the setup. I see it as a huge barrier to adoption in my area. I'm certain I have districts that need to be using such a product. Some may even be convinced to spend the money to license the product either directly or via EES. With such cautionary tales of setup trouble and limited budgets to pay for configuration, I think some districts are being scared away from actually deploying a tool like this.

I'd like to see my districts using technology tools to make their lives easier. This seems to fit the bill, so I suppose the market is ripe for someone to come forward and bridge the gap between purchase of the tool and easy use of such a product.